Minister of Energy and International Business Senator Lisa Cummins yesterday called for global cooperation and alignment to support the growth and resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Speaking at the inaugural SME ministerial event convened by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Johannesburg, South Africa, Cummins cited the deep historical ties between the Caribbean and Africa, calling both regions “one community”.
She highlighted the establishment of the Afreximbank’s regional office in Barbados as a tangible example of South-South collaboration.
On the central issue of SME development, however, Cummins made her case to the forum.
“All of us here agree that enhancing SME competitiveness is essential for sustainable development and the economic resilience of all our economies. For small island developing states like Barbados, we need our MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises] to be competitive if we are to create jobs, lower our import bill, and grow exports.”
She pointed to Barbados’ newly launched MSME Strategy 2025 and the nation’s leadership role at the MSME Committee of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as evidence of its firm commitment to small business development. Cummins warned, however, that a onesize-fits-all model was inadequate to address the diverse needs of SMEs across different geographies and sectors.
“I want to use today’s opportunity to make a call that we treat different countries and different regions, different types of businesses across different sectors, with a differentiated support model,” she said.
The minister stressed the importance of translating high-level policy into real-world impact, noting that many micro and small businesses were not represented at forums like the G20 or the WTO.
“It is critical that national action allows for tangible, meaningful interventions that translate policy into implementation,” she added.
She also referenced Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley’s global push for the highly touted Bridgetown Initiative to reform the global financial architecture, arguing for a similar transformation in the financial systems that affect MSMEs.
“Affordable access to financing must be met with a restructuring of financial ecosystems,” she said. (BA)
